2025 Corn Season Highlights and Top Performers

Like every season, corn growers experienced their fair share of challenges and successes in 2025. If I had to boil this season down to one word? Variable. Weather conditions, disease pressures, economic factors — all these factors varied greatly throughout the year and within geographic regions.

In general, above average temperatures and high levels of moisture led to increased disease pressure in many areas, but economic factors stifled corn growers’ desire to manage in-season. Whether it was additional fertilizer applications after losses from excessive rainfall, or fungicide applications to manage disease pressures, we saw a large dip in making those critical in-season management practices. This pattern had impacts on both yield and harvestability, and, as a result, growers who chose to skip these steps may have seen lower management and product ROI potential.

Let’s take a look at the highlights by region and some of the top performing CROPLAN® hybrids in each.
 

South

Rains in June across southern states set the stage for the remainder of the season. This moisture in a key management window made timely fertilizer applications a challenge. Later in the season, temperatures turned up, resulting in hot and dry conditions during pollination and grain fill. As a result of hot and wet environments, southern rust hit large areas in states including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

As one might predict, hybrids with high disease and heat tolerance performed well regionally in 2025. Here are a few of the products we saw stand out in the south and why they worked:

•    CP5911 VT2P: Its good tolerance to southern rust along with already high yield potential meant it could thrive in these environments. 
•    CP5893 TRE: Leveraging the power of Trecepta® trait technology, this product’s strong southern rust tolerance and late-season performance potential proved effective in fields. 
•    CP5682 TRE: This product’s broad adaptability across yield environments and strong agronomic package translates to overall greater yield potential, and this year was no different.
 

Central

Disease pressures and plant stress largely defined the season in the Midwest. The region stretching from St. Louis to central Ohio faced heavy rains at planting, while the Corn Belt saw more favorable weather during this time. Later on in the season, areas in the Midwest received excessive rainfall at variable times which, combined with warmer temperatures, made way for fungal diseases including southern rust, tar spot, Anthracnose stalk rot and crown rots.  

In the face of a variety of diseases and heat threats, the standout products were those with strong agronomic packages and high tolerance to stressors:
 
•    CP5249 PCE RA: Tolerance to common diseases including southern rust, gray leaf spot, Goss wilt and tar spot allowed this product to perform well despite widespread disease pressure.
•    CP4840 TRE: Excellent tolerance to southern rust offered protection for threats of disease across the Midwest and produced high yield potentials this season.
•    CP4444 VT2P: A consistent and versatile hybrid to cover broad acres, CP4444 VT2P yielded well in the midst of variability across fields.
•    CP3330a VT2P: This hybrid’s outstanding agronomics and yield potential supported it, generating high yield potential even when fighting disease.
 

North

Overall, northern states may have come out the most unscathed from the disease pressures that troubled other growing regions. Moisture still presented a challenge here, as excessive rainfall plagued some areas, leading to nitrogen and sulfur losses. Growers who experienced these problems and chose not to apply a nitrogen or sulfur fertilizer due to economic factors may have seen a resulting impact on their yield potentials.

Products with high yield potential, strong agronomics and wide adaptability delivered in northern states like Minnesota and the Dakotas: 
 
•    CP2324 VT2P: This product’s versatility across environments showed as it yielded well throughout the region.
•    CP3330a VT2P: Flexibility in nitrogen and fungicide applications plus a good agronomic package allowed growers to manage this hybrid with success.
•    CP3724 VT2P: With already high-performance potential, this hybrid thrived in variable and even tough environments.
•    CP4024 SSPRO: SmartStax® PRO technology protects this product from corn rootworm feeding, setting it up for success across acres.
 

West

One of the biggest challenges in the western states this season was heat. Some areas experienced above average heat during pollination, which may have impacted grain yield potential. Warmer temperatures, specifically at night, impacted the region with further effects on pollination, as well as plant respiration and development. Like other areas across the U.S., the rising temperatures came with heavy southern rust pressure. 

Growers who mitigated these risks with heat and disease tolerant products likely found success. For those reasons, these CROPLAN products yielded well in the west:
 
•    CP5249 PCE RA: A new product this year, CP5249 PCE RA withstood heat exceptionally, and leveraged its excellent southern rust tolerance in fields.
•    CP4840 TRE: This product proved its performance potential in heat-stressed environments and areas with high southern rust pressure across the western states.
 

Key Takeaways for 2026

Overall, the 2025 crop year was, in part, strained by outside forces (low commodity prices, less than ideal weather conditions and strong disease pressures, to name a few). But despite these challenges, the outcomes for many corn growers relied on their willingness to manage. In areas confronting southern rust, Anthracnose stalk rot, or other stalk and crown rots, fungicide applications to corn at tassel or later resulted in a positive ROI potential come harvest.

My biggest piece of advice for 2026? Try to avoid the mindset of saving your way to prosperity. As big of a role as economics play (particularly now), it’s profit that matters, not revenue or costs alone. I encourage you to look past initial expenses and analyze the real ROI of every decision, from seed to in-season management. 

The Answer Plot^® system tests products in various conditions, under many management strategies, giving you response-to fungicide and fungicide ROI data. Your CROPLAN local retail seed expert can help you sort through this data along with harvest data from plots near you. The local focus combined with the broader regional and national view is critical to making informed decisions for your operation.

All photos are either the property of WinField United or used with permission. 

© 2025 WinField United. Important: Before use always read and follow label instructions. Crop performance is dependent on several factors many of which are beyond the control of WinField United, including without limitation, soil type, pest pressures, agronomic practices and weather conditions. Growers are encouraged to consider data from multiple locations, over multiple years and to be mindful of how such agronomic conditions could impact results. Answer Plot, CROPLAN and WinField are trademarks of WinField United. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.